Midnight Musings
by foolofatook001
Summary: In which there is a midnight conversation between Zuko and Katara on the eve of Sozin's Comet. Set during "The Phoenix King," after Aang's disappearance, but before they find Jun. Oneshot. Zutara, if you like.


**A/N:** Happy New Year's! Just a little oneshot set during "Sozin's Comet: The Phoenix King," after Aang disappears but before they find Jun (a scene also known as "The gang walks into an Earth Kingdom bar...").

* * *

He sat at the edge of the rocky shore and felt the wind in his hair, the earth beneath his feet, and the ocean's pounding pulse going through him. He wondered what it was like for waterbenders, if he, a firebender, could feel the ocean's power on a night like this, a full moon in the sky and the stars shining down on him.

The Earth Kingdom coast was cold and rocky, not like the warm sandy beaches he'd grown up with on Ember Island. The rocks cut into his hands as he pushed himself to his feet; the tide was coming in and he wanted to get out of its way. He still remembered the North Pole, the giant koi-creature and the Avatar wreaking havoc on the Fire Navy's finest. The death of Zhao, despite his best efforts. The true power of the ocean, once seen, could not be easily forgotten, he reflected.

He watched the waves curl and crash and retreat, leaving lines on the sand that gleamed silver. He felt like being alone tonight - had been ever since they had landed and everyone had stumbled to bed, still shell-shocked and numb. Just before the comet, and their last, best hope for peace, the Avatar, had just failed them. Disappeared off the face of the earth.

Zuko couldn't help but feel partially responsible. He'd been the one who'd made Aang realize the stakes, and he'd also been pressuring him - along with the rest of the group - about killing the Fire Lord. And now Aang was gone.

He stared into the waves. The moment before they broke, the repetitive swell and curve of the water, was mesmerizing. Distracting, even. It was helpful.

He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, looking down on the water, but gradually he became aware of a dark shape that was disappearing in and out of the waves, steadily growing closer. He narrowed his eyes, straining for another glimpse of it. After a couple minutes he determined that the shape was that of a person, and they were bending, which left him three options: either it was the Avatar, back from wherever he'd been, some unknown waterbender who just happened to be in this part of the Earth Kingdom, or Katara. He watched a little longer and confirmed - it was indeed the Avatar's waterbending master.

How she could stand to be in water that cold he couldn't fathom.

The waterbender propelled herself into the air on a huge wave, crossing in front of the moon. She executed a perfect double somersault before landing in the water again. She was back up on the surface in a moment, bending another wave to carry herself a little closer to shore.

Zuko sat down and lit a fire at the edge of the cliff. He was cold - the wind coming off the ocean was _frigid_ \- and he figured it would help Katara if she had a good idea of where their camp was, instead of wandering around in the dark. And he didn't feel like being alone anymore. He made sure to keep the fire small, mindful of safety, and amused himself by making shapes in the fire, like Uncle had made him do when he was younger. First, just a circle. Then a thorny vine. Then the symbols of each of the four nations. Then a Fire Navy ship. A delicate fire lily. A sinuous dragon. Waves, crashing on a shore.

"I knew you secretly wanted to be a waterbender," said a girl's voice from behind him, though the joke didn't quite ring right. He made the waves disappear with a flick of his wrist.

"I was bored," he told her, glancing over as she sat next to him.

Katara smiled, though it was a pale imitation of her normal one, pulling her hair over her shoulder to wring it out. "What are you doing up?" she asked gently.

He shrugged, staring into the fire. A shape flickered into life for a moment - it looked like the image of a man with flames streaming from his mouth. "Why are you up?" he asked instead.

Her smile disappeared. "I couldn't sleep, not when Aang… We just don't know anything. And the moon's full, and there's a whole ocean right there."

Zuko bent a stylized sun in the flames. "You rise with the moon," he said in a low voice. Another memory from the North Pole.

"How do you do that? Make things in the fire?" Katara asked, clearly wanting to change the subject. Zuko wasn't the only one who needed distraction tonight.

"You just - draw it," he said, nonplussed.

"Like on paper?"

"Yeah."

"Think I could do it with water?"

"Probably," he said, glancing over at her. "You're powerful bender."

"Do you have to be a powerful bender to do it?" she asked, sounding surprised.

"It takes a lot of focus," he explained. "You have to have good control."

"I guess that makes you a pretty powerful bender, then," Katara said, and there was a note in her voice that he couldn't quite identify.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"How did you learn to do it?"

"Uncle made me," he said, the beginning of a wry smile touching his mouth, as it always did when he talked about Uncle. "He said it was to make me learn control. And I always liked drawing anyway."

"Hm," she said, pulling a stream of water out of her pouch. "Well, I'm a better artist than Sokka usually - "

"That's not saying much," Zuko muttered.

" - but I'm not great," Katara continued, ignoring him. "Still, I can give it a shot. Can't have my master waterbender reputation getting tarnished."

"Start with something easy, like a circle," he instructed, making a circle of his own in the flames.

She frowned in concentration, focusing in on the hovering ball of water in front of her. She was making small circular motions with her hands; the water pulsed and slowly formed into a silvery ring.

"That's a little more work than drawing," she said with a small laugh.

"It just takes practice," he said, flicking his hand at the fire. A fair likeness of the Avatar's grinning face appeared in the flames.

Katara let out a sharp breath. "He'll come back. I _know_ he will."

Zuko said nothing, just flicked his hand at the fire again. Aang turned into a smug-looking Sokka, which made Katara crack a small smile.

"Do you ever draw on paper?" she asked.

"Sometimes," he said, changing the picture to Toph's wide eyes and mischievous smirk.

"You're quite the artist," she said. Then she flinched back a little - the face smiling warmly out of the fire was her own. He erased it quickly, having done it without thinking.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't be - I was just surprised," she replied. She started manipulating her water again, until it looked like a chubby oval. Then she shaped two flippers on each side and added a snout to the top of the oval. Then she reshaped the original oval a little, making it sleeker. "There. A penguin-seal," she proclaimed.

"Not bad," he remarked, looking it over. "You're a quick study."

"Not as quick as Aang," she said, deflecting the compliment. Zuko frowned. She bent the water back into her pouch. "I got really frustrated when I was first teaching him because he could do everything so much faster than I could."

"But you're a master now," Zuko pointed out. "And from what I've seen, you're a stronger waterbender than he is."

"Maybe now," she said with a shrug. "But I wasn't a few months ago."

"Hold on," Zuko said, sitting up straighter. "You're telling me you went from a complete novice to a waterbending master in a few _months_?"

"Yes?" Katara said, sounding confused. "That scroll I got from the pirates helped - so did Master Pakku, at the North Pole… eventually," she said, and her tone was dark. Zuko made a mental note to ask about it later.

"Katara, I've been training for _years_ and I wouldn't be considered a master. And you're what, sixteen?"

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen!" Zuko repeated, incredulous. "I'm surrounded by bending prodigies. You, Aang, Toph, Azula - even Sokka's on his way to being a sword master and he's only a year younger than I am!" He ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head.

"He did train with Master Piandao in the Fire Nation for a while," Katara pointed out.

Zuko looked up. "Really? Piandao? But he never takes students! I remember, Lu Ten tried once, but Piandao wouldn't take him."

"Lu Ten?" Katara asked.

"My cousin," he said in a low voice. "He was killed in the siege of Ba Sing Se. Uncle - was never the same. I think it helped him realize the - the - _wrongness_ of the war. And then my aunt died…" He trailed off.

"Your uncle sounds like a great man," Katara said, and there was compassion in her voice.

"I guess you haven't really met Uncle," Zuko realized. "We'll have to arrange that - he'd like you, I'm sure. If I ever see him again," he added darkly.

"Of course you will," Katara said, laying a hand on his shoulder and scooting a little closer to him. "You've been doing a great job with Aang's firebending. We'll find Aang and we'll defeat the Fire Lord and we'll win this war and then you can introduce me to your uncle." She said it with such conviction that he almost believed her.

"But - " He stopped himself. Katara watched him, waiting. He stared into the fire. "What if… he doesn't _want_ to see me again?" he asked, in a voice that was barely above a whisper. He saw Katara blink in surprise and all of his feelings that he'd been holding on to since the eclipse came tumbling out of his mouth. "I didn't just betray you and the Avatar in Ba Sing Se. I betrayed Uncle, too. We took him back to the Fire Nation in chains. We called him a traitor. They locked him up in the royal prisons. I came to visit him a couple times, but - the last time I saw him, I pretty much threw a fit and yelled at him… And… during the eclipse… he escaped prison. I went to get him out, but he was already gone. Why didn't he - take me? Or try to find me… If he really…"

He trailed off, looking into the fire but not really seeing it. "I betrayed Uncle's trust. I don't know if he can forgive me this time."

"Zuko," Katara said, and her voice had a tinge of pity in it that made him flinch. A slim arm wrapped around his shoulders and he suddenly found himself in a tight hug. He sat stiffly for a moment, then slowly brought his arms up, returning the hug.

"Your uncle would _never_ give up on you," Katara whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt, still holding on tight. "He _loves_ you, Zuko. Don't you forget it." She pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "He's your real family, and that's what family does." She made sure he was looking her straight in the eye before she said, "You got that?"

"You've been hanging out with Toph too long," he said gruffly, and his throat felt like it was closing up. _Princes don't cry_ , he told himself sternly. "She's starting to rub off on you."

Katara let out a choked laugh and Zuko saw with horror that her blue eyes were shining with tears.

"What's the matter?" he asked, staring at her. Had he done something? She gave another laugh and swiped a hand across her eyes.

"I'm fine. We should head back to camp. You want an early start, right? We both need the rest." She stood. "Put the fire out, would you?"

" _You're_ the waterbender," he grumbled to himself, but did as she said and followed her up the trail back to the campsite. Just before she went into her tent, she turned to him with a small smile.

"Your plan's going to work out," she said. "I trust you. And we'll find Aang, and you'll see your uncle again. I know it." Then, after giving him one last quick hug, she slipped into her tent, leaving the Fire Prince outside with an oddly warm feeling in his chest.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, what's up, hello, dear readers! I was hit with a wave of Avatar inspiration recently and so I give you this! It's kind of in the same vein as my "Sleepless" series (shameless self-promotion: if you haven't read those and you liked this, maybe check those out?) but not the same storyline, if you get what I mean.

Anyway, would love to hear what you think, so drop a review if you liked it!


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